Destiny's Path
by XxDark-maiden201xX
Summary: The last thing I needed was pity. I came here to forget. To forget about my hideous past. To forget about everything and start over. And I didn’t need my cousin wallowing over my pain.Main pairings: RyomaxOC, TezukaxOC,FujixOC.Slight RegularsxOC.Pleas RnR
1. A new beginning

**_The Seigaku Regulars have won the Nationals and they've gone on to High school as well. Ryoma's childhood friend shows up at school and last thing he wants is for him to fall in love with her. But life's not exactly what you wish for is it? To top all that off there's Sakuno and Tomoka coming in between them and the fact that the winter vacation is coming up. But the winter vacation is a bit more eventful than usual when all the regulars go on a trip to this wierd mansion and end up disappearing one by one. A romantic horror story with some comedy in between!_**

**_I know that summary sucked. I'm really sorry. I know my summaries aren't good at all but hopefully my story'll be better. Please read and review. This isn't recommended for Sakuno fans AT ALL. I don't really like her. She's way too girly. No offense intended._**

**_Well I won't bore you with my stupid chatter_**

**_Happy reading^_^_**

**_Disclaimer:I do not own the Prince of Tennis because then Ryoma would change his name and turn into a Buddhist monk because of my fangirliness...XD_**

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"Ladies and gentlemen. We interrupt this program to-"

"Ugh", Serena snorted," Finally." It had been three whole days of sitting in the American Airlines in utter boredom and annoyance on her trip from America to Japan. Serena Misaki was what you would call an average fourteen year old. She'd finished her middle school studies in America and was now coming back to Japan for her last year of Junior high school and high school education as the education system of Japan and America are different. She was 5 feet 3 inches in height and her black hair which had tints of red and brown reached down to a little below her waist. Her brown eyes were watery and red from her long journey and her fair face looked wary and tired as she stared out at the vast expanse of land stretching out beneath her. Serena had lived in America for most of her life though she wasn't born there but now she was coming back to Japan where she had spent the first four years of her life. The plane journey was typical hell but she was feeling better now that it was about to land.

"Serena!....Serena!....SERENA!!!!!" Chris was practically pushing her off her seat, "Se-"

"NANDA????" Serena's habit of speaking Japanese when she was angry was a mystery. He never learnt the language and it tortured him to come to Japan, but of course, he only had to stay for a few days till Serena settled in with her cousin. As Serena explained to her geek of a brother what 'nanda' meant, the plane landed. Chris just said he only called her to wake her up from her meditating trance. She didn't even have the energy to argue with him so she bounded out of the plane with her hand luggage and into the Tokyo International Airport. Chris jogged up right behind her. He had the same black hair and brown eyes as her though his hair was pitch black and his eyes were bigger but they still looked similar even though Chris was one and a half years younger than Serena. That was probably why people thought they were twins. "You think cousin's still a living dead?" Chris piped up as he caught up to her. "I hope he can turn YOU into one…" she replied coldly. Serena's cousin was the stoic captain of his school tennis team. He had a grave arm injury but was still the best player in the country. He often had to go to a rehabilitation centre in Germany for that but his arm had recovered a lot recently and he and his team had even won the national tennis tournament in Japan. (Me: too much info?) She considered him better as a brother than Chris of course. I mean how many people can stand it if their brother turned on the TV in their room in the middle of the night while they happen to be sleeping just to watch some stupid show on frogs on the Discovery channel. Tigers or snakes would be understandable but FROGS????. I mean seriously……

Meanwhile, Tezuka Kunimitsu was roaming the airport searching for his "long lost' cousin. She'd called him a week ago asking if she could move in with them for the year while her brother stayed in America to finish his middle school education. His parents were delighted and got everything ready while they sent Tezuka to the airport to pick her up. "Kuni-chan!!" he heard a voice call from behind him. Only one person could have called him that and gotten away with it and as he turned around he saw his grinning cousin waving at him like her life depended on it. She was at the luggage belt area loading a huge red suitcase on the cart and her brother was nervously eyeing him and helping with the luggage a little. Chris was ALWAYS nervous around Tezuka, afraid of him more like, and that made Serena laugh all the time. Tezuka went over to them, helped them with the rest of the luggage and led them out of the airport where he had a car waiting to pick them up. He was clearly in a bad mood and that made Chris even more terrified so he sat in the front seat to avoid being pounced by his cousin while Serena sat in the backseat. He was getting grouchy on the road so Serena asked, "Why are YOU so angry?"

"Momo and Kaidoh got into a fight again. They should really learn to behave themselves" Tezuka replied staring straight ahead. "That viper and the high-jumping dude?" Serena asked casually. She'd gotten to know a lot about the tennis team from her cousin and knew pretty much everything about their playing styles, special moves and personalities. "So Kunimitsu's just come from practice? That would explain him wearing his uniform. For a second there I thought he was starting to show of…WHAT WAS I THINKING???????" Serena thought to herself and as she made a mental note to slap herself as soon as she was out of anyone's sight, Tezuka nodded in agreement to her question and continued," Don't call Kaidoh that. He's hot headed" but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he had a feeling he shouldn't have said that. Serena just gave a wink and said," We'll see about that."

"There's no satisfying some people……" Tezuka muttered to himself

When they finally got home, Tezuka's mother and father greeted Serena with open arms. In the middle of all the hugs and "it's been so long's" and "you've grown up so much's" Tezuka interrupted saying, "I'm going back to training" as he put on his shoes. "Huh? He left his training to pick me up?" Serena thought to herself and just before he left, he called out to him with a smile saying, "Kunimitsu! Thanks for taking your time to bring me here!" Tezuka almost smiled as an answer and said, "No problem" As he headed out of the house he thought that's exactly why he'd gone in the first place. Despite all the trouble he knew she'd cause and all the crazy pranks she'd pull, she was a sister to him. What with all the problems she faced with her strict parents and besides all that he could always practice tennis with her seeing as she was a great player though she did complain a lot about his training techniques but had no doubt improved since the last time of her visit.

"Serena dear! Dinner's ready!" Tezuka's mother called out from downstairs," Would you like me to bring it up to your room?" Great….trust her cousin's parents to offer her dinner in bed when she was already giving them that much trouble…"No that's ok. I'll be down in a second" Serena had drifted into unconsciousness the moment her aunt and uncle had left her alone. She was more tired than she thought and had been sleeping for 3 hours. It was already 7 pm when she woke up and she didn't want to eat with the clothes she had worn all she had taken a blissful hour for taking a shower and change into her pajamas and a half sleeved white t-shirt which reached down to her knees. She went down and saw that everyone was already seated around the table waiting for her." Sorry for the hold up" Serena muttered as she sat at her seat." Its ok dear" Tezuka's mom said comfortingly as she passed the food around. Tezuka was sitting stiffly at the table with a book in his hand. He had already changed which made Serena think he'd been back from practice a long time was unusually quiet which made her snicker at the thought that her cousin was able to produce this much effect on her evil brother at the first meeting. She should visit him more often.

"So how was practice?" Serena asked Tezuka casually.

"Fine" he replied,"Everyones' interested in meeting you"

"Typical", she said rolling her eyes," Of course they want to meet the National winning teams' captain's cousin" with a hint of a smile

"Actually they're wondering how you plan to survive with me for the rest of the year....especially Momo", Tezuka stiffened at the memory.

Serena laughed at her cousin's discomfort," Maybe I can give them survival tips at school" she said, still laughing

Serena, though fourteen years old was qualified as a student in the first year of high school. She was shocked at the idea at first thinking she'd fail but got used to it soon enough.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Mada mada Dane" Serena yelled out in the middle of the rally. It had been almost a week since she'd come to had already gone back to his blissful USA and now she had enough free time without his annoyingness around. Tezuka was out most of the time with his training which left Serena with nothing to do. She had asked her cousin whether she could go to his practices with him but he told her that she would have enough time to do that when school she frequently just walked around the neighborhood when she stumbled on the street tennis courts one fine and utterly boring morning and so now here she was playing tennis with some local kids about her age. She was doing pretty well because no one had yet been able to defeat her.

"Game and match Misaki. 6-2", the referee called out. Serena gave a huge grin at her opponent and shook hands with him." Great game" she told him but he seemed to be in another dimension.

"Um…in the middle of the game…you said something..." he began

"I said a lot of things in the middle of the game" Serena replied with another grin

"No…I meant….you said 'Mada mada dane' "

"Yes…I did say it right? I'm new in Japan so I'm going to have to speak Japanese fluently" she replied now quite confused at the turn in the conversation," Is something wrong?"

"No no its fine….but is that sort of like your catchphrase?"

"Not really….I used to have a friend who said it a lot" she replied getting really confused this time

"used to?…" he asked noting the past tense and the slight tone of something in her voice…resentment?

"Yeah…used to…so what's your name?" Serena asked not trying to hide the fact that she did not want to continue the conversation on this particular subject.

"O…its..a...Yuuta" he replied and then added with a little bitterness, "Yuuta Fuji"

"Yuuta Fuji? THE Yuuta Fuji? Brother of Syuusuke Fuji?"

"Well I guess you've heard of my brother newcomer or not.." he replied with the same bitter edge to his tone.

"Why wouldn't I?" and seeing the confused look on Yuuta's face she added, "I _am_ Captain Tezuka's cousin."

That set it off. "T-Tezuka?" Yuuta asked with wide eyes

"Yup" Serena replied with another of her grins. She loved to see the effect on people when they heard that she was Tezuka's cousin. From the corner of her eye Serena could see another boy wearing the same uniform as Yuuta stand up and walk towards her. He was smiling like there's no tomorrow and to Serena he looked like the Devil when he did that.

"Hello there. I'm Mizuki and I'm from the same school as Yuuta here." The Devil boy began. He had pitch black hair and his eyes were shining like a child on a Christmas morning.

'_What's Mizuki doing? He can't recruit a girl for the boys' team' _Yuuta was thinking to himself.

"And what school would that be?" Serena asked with a small playful smile

"_She must be up to something as well"_

Mizuki didn't seem to be disturbed at all by her smile and that made Yuuta even more bewildered. He just went on casually.

"That school is . I've heard that you are Tezuka Kunimitsu's cousin and also that you have been accepted for High School even though you are fourteen years old"

"Yes that is correct. Go on."

"O there's nothing more to say. You have come from America?"

"Yes"

"Well I would like to welcome you to Japan heartily and I hope that you will have a wonderful time on your stay here"

"Why thank you for your kind welcome. I truly feel very lucky to be around such people as you" Serena replied playing along with Mizuki's tone of speaking which obviously seemed very fake to her. Mizuki seemed to notice her tone and twitched slightly but didn't react.

"Well you know for your age you are a wonderful tennis player. I bet that the moves you used against Yuuta weren't half of all the ones you know but that could just be because you're a right handed player. You are quite extraordinary you know almost like Seishun Academy's Ryoma Echizen."

Serena seemed to stiffen very slightly at the name but didn't react. Mizuki didn't notice either but Yuuta's eyes were open and he saw it quite clearly.

"I'm sure you've heard of him from your cousin?" Mizuki continued with his sadistic tone.

"Yes" Serena replied quietly

"Well you know your talent is excellent but it will not be recognized."

"And why is that?"

"Because you will be compared. Compared with the cousin everyone calls the tennis pro and not to mention the youngest prodigy Ryoma Echizen both of whom are in the same school you are enrolled in"

Serena closed her eyes and said, "Continue"

"_I don't believe it. What is that guy? A heartless mind eating mutant?"_

"Nothing as of now has happened but soon there will be talk. Who is better than whom? Tezuka or Serena? Ryoma or Serena? They'll break your moral confidence. You will always be followed by that shadow of everyone comparing you."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"That you join our school. You can become the team manager of our team. Of course you can't play in the boys' team but you can join the girls' team and help both the teams win the Nationals. I can teach you to defeat both your enemies. Than no one will dare to compare you with those weaklings"

"_Suspicion confirmed. Mizuki is officially a heartless mind eating mutant beast. O.O what would he do if I said it out loud?"_

"Is that how you got Yuuta in?"

"Excuse me?"

"Is that how you got Yuuta in ? By telling him all this?"

"Well…a" Mizuki seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I figured as much. Well for the record I don't mind being compared to my cousin. I'd be proud to be compared to such a wonderful player and you should be too, Yuuta" she added looking at Yuuta

"Hun-huh?" Yuuta stared up from his trance. He was occupied with counting the chances of Mizuki being a mutant or an alien but replied nonetheless, "Oh yeah right Thanks"

"He has no idea what I'm talking about," and with a sigh, Serena continued, "And as for Ryoma Echizen….well he's a complete stranger so I couldn't care any less"

"_Am I imagining things or did she pronounce Echizen's name with that same tone….of resentment?"_

"Well I guess I'd better get going now. It was nice meeting you two. Maybe we can have a match some other time and by the way next time I wanna play your captain Akazawa" Serena called out as she started running towards her home.

When Serena got home she noticed that the place was unusually quiet and searched around the house for her aunt when she saw the two little notes attached to the fridge. One said:

'_Serena dear,  
Gone to shop to buy a few things. Be back soon. Have fun at tennis.  
Aunt'_

And the other one was:

'_Rin,  
Gone to buy racket tape and restring racket. Oishi might come over while I'm gone. Tell him 2 wait. Be back soon.  
K' _

"K must stand for Kunimitsu. O well. Guess I have the house all to myself. Great!!"

"Wait. Now what do I do?" (Me:O.O lol)

"What's with the nickname though? Rin? Somehow I CANNOT imagine Kunimitsu saying that…" Serena pondered around aimlessly.

DING DING DING DONG!! The doorbell of the house rang actually it just screeched more like.

DING DING DI- "I'm coming I'm coming" She called and then muttered more softly, "Stupid screeching doorbell"

"What is taking Tezuka so long?" Oishi muttered, "Didn't I tell him I'd come over?"

While Oishi was busy thinking whether he mentioned that he would come over, the door just happened to be opened and imagine his surprise when it was a girl. (We all know he's not supposed to be surprised but well he just is)

"Hello", Serena greeted him

"_What is a young girl doing in Tezuka's house??? Did I come to the wrong house? No, I'm sure this is his house. Wait is he-??? No what am I thinking??? I'm sure there is a justifiable reason for a 14-15 year old girl being in Kunimitsu Tezuka's house" _

While Oishi was in lala land dreaming up reasons for Serena's existence she was wondering if she should disturb his meditation or not.

"Um….you must be Shuichiro Oishi"

"H-How did you know?" Oishi asked. He looked terrified.

"Um…..I'm Kunimitsu's cousin"

"Cousin? O…um..a…yes…Serena Misaki?" he seemed to calm down but he still looked terrified.

"Um…yes" Serena was confused. Who else would she be? "So why don't you come in….Kuni-chan said you'd come over. He's just gone to buy some racket tape and restring his racket. He'll be back soon"

"Ok then" Oishi replied as he stepped in to the house but he was thinking about something else.

"_Kuni-chan? I can almost imagine Tezuka twitching after hearing that. No wonder he didn't want to bring her to training for as long as he could. Well that's all gonna go down the drain tomorrow." He thought smiling to himself._

"So how's your stay here so far?" Oishi asked politely

"Great. I really love it here. There's a lot more of tennis here. In America people usually play basketball, soccer or practice cheerleading. It gets really boring and I've already met some awesome players."

"And who would those be?" Oishi asked interested

"Yuuta Fuji and Mizuki"

"Um…didn't Mizuki-?"

"He tried" Serena replied with a smile and that got Oishi laughing.

Just then they heard the doorbell ring. "Must be Kunimitsu…" Serena said lightly as she opened the door

Tezuka was wearing a full sleeve black t-shirt which clung to his skin and he had a light purple half sleeve sweater on top with some blue jeans.

Serena wolf-whistled at the sight of him and added with a grin, "Well someone's going to get chased by girls for the rest of the day"

This started Oishi laughing and Tezuka narrowed his eyes at her but Serena didn't have time to laugh. Her eyes opened wide at the next sight. As Tezuka went upstairs, Serena noticed someone else following him. It was a girl. A GIRL!!!!! WITH KUNIMITSU TEZUKA!!! She had long black hair just like Serena's only it was darker and very straight. Her hair was cut in layers and she had long bangs which hung down on her shoulders past her brown eyes. She had on a simple black t-shirt and black jeans and she gave a friendly smile to Oishi (who smiled back) and another at Serena which was a little uncomfortable and went following after Tezuka with Oishi right behind them who gave Serena a little smile and told her, "I'll explain tomorrow at school", before he left.

Serena started snickering and thought to herself, "_My stay in Japan just got a whole lot better"_

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was night now. The rest of the evening had gone by with nothing to do for Serena. The girl with Tezuka, as she later found out, was named Tera and that was ALL. Tezuka refused to say anything more when she asked him and neither did Tera.

"You really enjoy torturing me don't you Kuni-chan?" Serena asked during dinner. Tera and Oishi had stayed the entire afternoon and Tezuka's mother had generously asked them to stay for dinner and now Serena got really irritated when Tezuka wouldn't even talk to her. He was obviously enjoying torturing her. To Serena that girl was like poison and she wasn't about to give up so she called Kunimitsu, Kuni-chan deliberately to see the effect.

"Kuni-chan?" Tera asked and began laughing, "You never told me your cousin gave you such _cute _names" she told Tezuka.

Serena started laughing at Tera's joke and Tera gave her a smile.

"Well I don't think torturing your cousin is a good thing Kunimitsu"

"_She calls him by his first name. Excellent!!"_

Serena's eyes were almost glowing with excitement and Tezuka sensing her sudden happiness stiffened.

Tera, not realizing any of this went on, "Kunimitsu and me just go to the same archery club in town. I met him at the racket shop today so I asked him if he could lend me a few things for archery and so he brought me here"

Tezuka looked up to see if Serena's excitement had dimmed for the lack of information but his efforts were in vain. She was just as excited as ever and was grinning from ear to ear like there was no tomorrow. It reminded him of Mizuki of St. Rudolph.

After dinner Tera and Oishi left and Tezuka escaped the room of horrors as soon as he could. Serena went up to her room, grabbed a few clothes and went into the shower.

_(Note: This is from Serena's point of view)_

"_Plink plink plink. There was no other sound other than the steady beating of my footsteps on the hard concrete floor. I was wondering how to prank my cousin at school and laughing to myself about what happened today, when I heard it. A voice so beautiful that no earthly being could have produced it. It was singing. I didn't understand the words but they appeared to be in some foreign language. It was sad, the voice was very sad as it sang. I couldn't help myself. I ran as fast as I could to the place where the voice was coming from which led to the bathroom. Someone's singing in the bathroom? I had an urge to find out whom and since the door was open I stepped in. But the moment my foot was in, the voice vanished. I pulled the curtains of the bathtub but there was no one there. 'Must be the neighbors' I said to myself shrugging off the eerie feeling I suddenly felt. I turned towards the mirror to brush and there she was, staring at me with her big beautiful blue eyes. I knew this was irrational. I definitely did not have blue eyes and normally, random people did not appear in mirrors. I tried to touch the mirror thinking that maybe I was seeing things and she would go away. My fingers trembled as they touched the mirror. It was as cold as ice but there she was staring straight at me in the same forlorn way. I blinked my eyes but that didn't work either."_

"_W-who are you?" I asked the mysterious woman. She appeared my age, maybe a few years older. Her face was pale, very pale, almost chalky white. Her hair was pitch black and it reached down to her knees. She had high cheekbones and was wearing a long gown. It was white and very beautiful with some red parts but only after looking at the dress carefully did I notice that the red parts were blood. The blood was thick and it covered her dress entirely just leaving some of the white. At my question she smiled a beautiful smile which showed her perfect white teeth. But something was wrong, horribly wrong. Suddenly there were drops of blood dripping from her mouth. I took a step back but she motioned me forward. I couldn't help it. My legs wouldn't stop and I kept going forward. Her hand came out of the mirror but it wasn't fair and beautiful. It was decayed and completely rusted with her bones showing. I uttered a loud scream as her face came out of the mirror. It was just like her hand only a million times worse. She gave another smile and went, "Don't worry. I won't hurt you too much" Her one hand closed on my mouth and the other went round my neck. "This is it" I thought. His picture was the last thing that flashed into my mind before I drifted into unconsciousness._

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**_Thats it for Chapter 1.....hope you liked it._**

**_Thankyou 4 reading it n pls drop by a review-good or bad_**

**_Flames and critisicms are okay. Reviews and praises will be highly appreciated._**

**_^_^_**

**_PLEASEEEEE REEEEVIEW!!!!! I'm begging u!!_**

**_I'm desperate people!!!!!!!!_**

**_Review and u'll get a cookie!! XD_**


	2. The first day of school

**_Thankyou to my ever so lovely reviewers:_**

**_iRawrTera, nao-chan and animeaddict._**

**_Please review!!! I'm begging!!_**

**_CHAPTER-2: The first day of school_**

**_Happy reading^_^_**

**_Disclaimer:I do not own the Prince of Tennis because then Ryoma would change his name and turn into a Buddhist monk because of my fangirliness...XD_**

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**Serena's POV:**

"Serena! Serena!! SERENA!!!" Tezuka's mother tried to wake her up but the girl was stubborn.

"Huh?" She woke up with a start, "Wh-Where am I?"

"At our house, dear," she replied and continued, "I was passing by to check on you when I saw you twisting and turning in your bed. I thought you were having a nightmare so I tried to wake you up."

"Um…what time is it?"

"About 5:30"

"In the morning?"

"Yes"

"O….thanks for waking me up aunt"

That was one scary nightmare. Wait wasn't I in the bathroom? Must have been part of the nightmare. O well I probably can't go to sleep again. Might as well go find something to eat. I made my way down the stairs. Kunimitsu's grandfather was at the table his head hidden behind a newspaper and his hand holding a cup, of tea I guess, which frequently disappeared and reappeared from behind the newspaper. It was really early and most people were up already. Now that's something I don't see everyday. My mom wakes up pretty early but my dad and brother snore like pigs until someone wakes them up .I snickered at the thought of what would happen if Mom created a rule of everyone waking up at 5 in the morning. Hmm….I'm getting bored. Wonder if I-

"I'm leaving"

"Huh? Already?" I asked bewildered. It's only like 6am. Why's Kunimitsu going to school so early?

"We have morning practices before class"

"This early?"

"Yes. Why does it seem strange to you?"

"Um…well in America school usually starts somewhat late like at 9 and we don't have anything before classes…unless you're counting the Assembly…" I trailed off thinking about the stuff me and my old friends used to do before school started when no one was in class. We always were the earliest ones to school….well actually they were. I planned the pranks and they initiated them. Since I was the biggest prankster in the class no one would even suspect the others and I always gave them directions after school and was the latest to get in class. Everyone was clueless and one girl even thought that there were ghosts in the school. That brought on a whole new wave of pranks but I never got to finish them because I had to come to Japan. Of course it helps that most of my friends were seniors. I snickered at the thought of what we would have done this summer. We planned ahead for the entire year even thinking about what we would do in Halloween. Everything was perfect until my mom suddenly dropped the news that I was to go to Japan. My dad argued with her. I didn't think of it much-

"Serena why don't you go with him?"

"Huh? Oh ok if he doesn't mind."

"What brought on all this tolerance all of a sudden?" Kunimitsu asked me with his usual emotionless façade but teasingly, nonetheless.

I wasn't in the mood for it so I snapped at him without thinking. "Shut up..." and skated out of the house carrying my bag with me. I used to do the same back in America until it just became a habit to skate to school. He just followed behind me and when he came up to me he asked me a question.

**Tezuka's POV**

"Shut up…" she snapped at me. She didn't get angry _that_ easily and she looked upset as she went out of the room with her bag. I followed after her and caught up to her short strides in a few steps.

"Why so upset?" I asked.

She just stared at me as if I'd grown an extra head.

"Are you done?" I asked

She laughed and looked ahead. After a while she gave a short sigh and answered me.

**Serena's POV**

I didn't know why he was suddenly so worried about me but after staring at him for I decided there was no harm telling him. I told him about all our plans for pranks and Halloween. He just listened patiently so I went on,

"At first I didn't think of it much you know. My parents got into a huge fight about it but I didn't care. That was the usual. My parents always fight. I was more scared for the glass show pieces in our house wondering if this time they were going to break my favorite one." I added with a weak smile.

"But then my mom and dad agreed that if they'd send me to your place I'd be relatively okay. They trust you a lot you know."

"So you don't really like it here do you?" he asked me

"I didn't say that I didn't like it here. It's great here. Of course I miss my friends and everything but it's not I can't make friends here. And even if I don't I can always join St. Rudolph. I bet Mizuki would be delighted." I said and continued, "At least I don't have to be the postman delivering messages between my parents every single day anymore. Even if it is for a year only…." I added with a humorless laugh.

"…"

"Hey just cause I get a break from postman job doesn't mean I won't pull pranks. I live to serve pranks" I said with a big grin. I didn't want him to feel sorry for me.

The last thing I needed was pity. I came here to forget. To forget about my hideous past. To forget about everything and start over. And I didn't need my cousin wallowing over my pain. As I was thinking about all that we'd already arrived at school and Kunimitsu was showing me around the school. To avoid him noticing that I hadn't heard a single word he'd said till now, I just asked him randomly to repeat what he'd said but looks like he noticed.

He gave up on giving me the Grand tour, as I called it, and took me to the tennis courts. First he led me to the girls' courts to get me signed up for the team.

Four courts were standing in for corners forming a kind of square. Each court had a board beside it with the court number on it. Inside Court A, there was a tall woman with long, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She had high cheekbones and was applying….makeup? In a tennis court? But she still had on a Seigaku High tennis regulars' jacket that I often saw my cousin wearing. The first impression of the girls' tennis team made me seriously want to go back and join the boys' team.

"Excuse me", my cousin began

The blonde girl looked up and her eyes almost popped out. She hurriedly put the makeup in her bag and stood up.

"U-um Tezuka-kun!" she asked surprised but had a fangirly tone no less.

"Yes. My cousin here wants to join the tennis team."

I had to fight against the great urge to yell NO and run out of the courts but that wouldn't solve anything. He'd drag me back and make me join anyways. One of the reasons why my parents were so sure of Kunimitsu and one of the reasons why I despised him sometimes.

"U-yes just fill out this form please. We have practices thrice a week in the afternoons for one hour after school ends." She told me while handing me a printed form.

I couldn't hold myself any longer. "Thrice a week? An hour after school? No wonder you guys couldn't even go through the Metros!! This is a joke!"

"Excuse me? I think our training sessions are quite serious and we have to let our regulars rest." Blondie told me haughtily.

"Rest? Or do you just need time to do your nails Blondie?" I asked her raising my eyebrows. I hadn't lost my cool yet but I was very near to that level. What do these people think of tennis? A game? Well yeah….technically it is a game but it's about having fun. Not showing off what you can do to the guys.

"Miss um..."

"Serena Misaki"

"Yes Miss Misaki…Well if you think that our training menu isn't good why don't you become our Captain first and then change the training menu? Or are you too scared to go against our ace player?

"Actually I'm just scared of whether you might suicide when I break your nails. And quit showing off. My cousin doesn't like show off's who have no talent. Big deal you're the Captain…..If a freak like you could become Captain then I'm scared of how the rest of the players are like"

She blushed at what I said and almost yelled at me," Well why don't we see about that this afternoon? We'll play in this court. Whoever wins gets the Captaincy position and then we'll see who's really the freak, freak"

"Very smart Blondie. Tomorrow I'll ask you your ABC's." I told her and left but in mid stride I turned around and added something, "A word of advice. Don't blush. It makes your already ugly face look even uglier." And left. I wasn't fuming nor was I angry because I'd insulted her. I know that shouldn't make me happy but it's what she deserved.

Tezuka walked up to me but he had to jog to keep up because I was picking up speed. I slowed down my skating to catch up to him and he slowed down as well. He didn't say anything as we left the courts but led me to another set of courts. In these courts there were a few players warming up by the looks of it. I eased up and calmed down. I kind'a got hyper when people didn't take things seriously and that definitely applied to Blondie in the girls' courts.

"There were seven people inside one of the boys' courts, all of them wearing the same jacket as Kunimitsu meaning all of them were Regulars.

**Narrator's POV:**

"Huh? Isn't that Buchou nya?" the redhead called out to his doubles partner, "Hoi hoi! Who's that girl with him nya?"

"Huh? There's a girl with the Captain?" Momo asked getting all excited and Fuji opened his eyes as he turned around from his warm up.

"That's his cousin you guys" Oishi said as he turned to see his Captain.

"Oh….." Momo sighed clearly disappointed and Fuji went back to his warm up with Kawamura closing his eyes though something told his warm up partner that he was quite disappointed too. No surprise that he had hoped to find some blackmail material for his collection. Kawamura shuddered at the thought though he was carrying his racket.

Tezuka and Serena were still some distance away making their way to the tennis courts.

"What do you think she'll be like? His cousin?" Taka asked timidly as he put away his racket once he finished his warm up.

"Since she is his cousin, she might have some attributes similar to him." Inui said his glasses shining.

"Saa…she's probably cold and emotionless just like him." Fuji said

"But good in tennis nya!" Eiji said jumping up and down

"Yes, I have done some research regarding that matter. It seems she has won Runner's up in the 'All America Girl's Tennis' and that seems to be about it. Other than that she's a baseline player."Inui read out in one breath.

"Nya Inui how can you read for so long without taking a breath?"

"Maybe he's like a fish or something" Momo said in the midst of his laughter.

"20 laps now Momo", a voice called

"Buchou!" Everyone said as they lined up in front of their Captain.

"Momo. 20 laps" Tezuka repeated again

"Um….why are you giving him laps already?" Serena asked confused

"He was fooling around"

"But you can't give him laps. You weren't even here when he was fooling around and considering you were late in the first place, he doesn't have to do laps for anything" she argued

"I wonder whose fault that is….." Tezuka muttered but Serena ignored him.

The rest of the regulars were staring at the two, open mouthed and Inui was scribbling fiercely in his notebook. Momo was the first out of his trance and he sided with Serena.

"Yeah. And I already did my morning laps Captain", he said with an innocent smile.

"Peach head…" Kaidoh muttered but Momo heard it, as usual…

"WHAT-!"

"Shhhhhhh!!" Serena muttered to Momo and he kept quiet.

Tezuka eyed Serena warily and she gave him a big, innocent smile. At least it looked innocent….

"Very well…Everyone, I'm guessing you've all completed your warm ups. Move on to the matches. Inui."

"Yes. I have prepared a new training menu for everyone. Since we are almost out of time today, I will initiate the new training method this afternoon."

"Where's Echizen?" Tezuka asked suddenly.

"I think Echizen said he'd miss morning practice today, yesterday when he left" Kawamura said.

"Well since we don't have a player or any time left why don't we introduce ourselves to Tezuka's cousin?" Seigaku's mother-hen suggested.

"Wait wait!! Can I guess your names?" Serena asked her eyes twinkling.

"Um-a. Okay" Oishi said. He was thinking more of a calm introduction.

"Okay….You're Momoshiro Takeshi" she said to the purple eyed, black haired boy, "Kaoru Kaidoh, Sadaharu Inui, Shuichiro Oishi, Eiji Kikumaru, Takashi Kawamura and of course, Syuusuke Fuji." She called the names indicating the person with her fingers.

"Wow, you know a lot about us." Oishi said

"Uh-huh"

Just as Oishi was about to say something else, the school bell rang indicating the beginning of classes.

"Practice dismissed" Tezuka called in a loud voice as students began filing into their classes.

"Aaaaaaaaaa!!!! Fujikooo!!! We're gonna be late for class!!!" Eiji yelled as he ran towards the general direction of the school building.

"Saa…you're right Eiji. And I'd told Tera-san to wait for me at the entrance of Building D….I'll catch up with you later." Fuji said with a sly smile.

**_Building D? That's only for teachers and its deserted most of the time. What's _****_Fuji_****_ up to now? _**Tezuka thought with a sigh though he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at the tensai. As he was wondering to himself why he felt annoyed, Serena interrupted his whirl of thoughts.

"I really don't wanna interrupt you while you're lost in LaLa land, cuz, but I need to know my class and schedule" Serena said with an amused grin.

Tezuka narrowed his eyes at her and led her toward her class. Serena followed him through long, winded corridors. Everyone, especially the girls stared at her and Tezuka making their way to the class. The girls stared at her in horror and she flashed them huge radiant smiles. She was so happy that most of the school did not know that she was Tezuka's cousin. But the real amusement came when they reached their destination.

They entered the class with the teachers' permission and she looked pleased to see Tezuka for some reason.

**_Must have been his teacher when he was a freshman here. I don't blame her being pleased. Kuni's the biggest nerd in the world. Or……maybe just a die-hard fan._** Serena snickered to herself at the thought and when she looked at the class she had to look away at their stares. By this time Tezuka had finished talking to the teacher and she addressed Serena.

"Miss Misaki. From what your cousin tells me-loud sighs from the students-you are an excellent student but are not very committed to studying."

"Aren't all kids?" she said with a smile

The teacher smiled back and said, "Yes, but I wish that you will minimize your level of playing jokes while in class. I'm sure you are quite deft in you prankmanship by now"

That made all the students laugh but the teacher continued, "but you must study hard as-"

"Gomen gomen sensei. My dad and I got into a fight." A boy said as he entered the room. Serena was about to look at the door but the dreamy gaze of the girls in the class caught her off guard, especially that of a particular bronze haired girl.

She mentally whistled to herself and thought,**_ this dude's got all the girls in the class brooding over him. No wonder there was a lack of reaction in the girls when I made my dramatic entrance with my ever so clueless cousin. _**She turned to look at him but cut short when she heard the teacher speak.

"Yes Mr. Echizen. You seem to be late today. Take a seat." She said in a voice that was closer to a coo

**_Definitely a die-hard fan girl_** Serena registered to herself mentally. **_Echizen? Wait. No. it couldn't!! _**She couldn't help herself but glare at her cousin as he left the class and Echizen went and took a seat at the front of the class. Judging by the amount of pink envelopes stacked up on that seat, it was his assigned seat from the first day.

"Well Miss Mis-"

"I'll just go sit over there?" Serena interrupted the teacher pointing at the only empty seat in the room.

"Yes…but I was about to introduce you to everyone."

"O…right introductions…" she muttered while making a face

The teacher looked at her in a confused way. First she was all happy and hyper and now she's the gloom and doom. She continued saying, "But if you'd rather not, I don't really mind."

"Thankyou…" she answered in a dull way. She wanted to strangle her cousin for this. This was why he hardly ever mentioned "the youngest prodigy"

**_Wait? Why am I hiding?_** She thought to herself angrily**_ Chances are he won't even know who I am. Ugh….I'm over reacting. This is stupid. Oh well. My happiness just flew out the window. No. Not there. To the right. No. Yeah there. _**She was debating mentally and finally went to sit at the only empty seat in class, beside a reddish bronze colour haired girl.

**_RYOMA POV_**

**_Another stack of those annoying letters. What is up with these girls….don't they have anything else to do?_** I felt so annoyed. My dad had stacked most of his magazines in my bag in an effort to make me read it and now this. Maybe I shouldn't have come to school at all. No. Tennis practice is compulsory.

"Thankyou….."

The word broke into my thoughts. I hadn't realized the teacher was talking to another girl. At first glance I could tell she was new. Of course everyone was new. Today was the first day of High school but I could say that all the other students were my classmates in Junior High School as well. This girl was a new one, a new fan. Crap. And the seat beside me was completely empty other than the one beside Ryuzaki. I don't know how I'll survive. But I was in for a shock. She walked right past my seat and went to sit beside Ryuzaki. I caught a brief glimpse of her expression and it looked like she was thinking deeply about something. Her black hair showed tints of brown and red in the sun and was tied into a high ponytail whereas the bangs covered most of her face from view. For some reason I felt happy after that first glance. Like that girl was someone I knew but hadn't seen in a long time. **_Must have been those magazines my dad read to me by threatening to break my tennis rackets and ship me back to _****_America_****_. I tuned out most of it but I guess it's stuck to me. Stupid old fart. _**

**_Narrator POV_**

The second bell rang signaling the beginning of classes.

"Hello and welcome everyone!!" I'm pretty sure that most of you are from Seigaku Junior High so most of you are familiar with each other. But the students here will need to be familiarized with us, the teachers of course so why don't we introduce ourselves? Now I have come to know that all of you know each other but we have one new student who is new to this school as well as this country so we will all introduce ourselves one by one. Begin"

The students began telling their names and Serena watched as her queue got closer.

"I'm Horio. This is Kachiro and this is Katsuo. I've had 4 years of tennis experience and let me tell you-"

The whole class was laughing as Kachiro stuck a tennis ball into Horio's mouth to quiet him down.

"Okay okay. Enough laughing. Now move on."

"Echizen Ryoma" All the girls in the class sighed at the sound of his name.

**_Ryoma POV_**

"Echizen Ryoma" I said and heard sighs from the girls. **_You have got to be kidding me!! _**I sat down to avoid the stares of the fan girls.

"R-Ryuzaki Sakuno" The girl behind me squeaked. Ah Ryuzaki. Always so shy. But I didn't have time to ponder about her as the next name caught my attention.

"Misaki Serena"

**_Serena? Why does that name sound so? So? Familiar? It's a girl. I'm pretty sure the only girls I ever played against are Ryuzaki and Buchou's rehabilitator in _****_Germany_****_. But then why?_** I couldn't press the subject farther because the teacher's words broke through my concentration.

"Miss Misaki! Do you mind telling us a little more about yourself. From your cousin I have come to know that you previously lived in America?"

"Yes."

"And tell us about your hobbies?"

"I like drawing, reading, tennis, music, hanging out with friends and surfing the internet."

"Oh! Another tennis player!! Echizen Ryoma is also a tennis player!"

"So I've heard" she replied simply

"Okay now class do you have any questions?"

"Your cousin is Tezuka Kunimitsu?"

"Yes"

"You can't have Ryoma-kun just cause you play tennis you know!!"

"A. That's not a question and B. I really couldn't care any less"

**_Huh. She shouldn't have said that. Now the guys are gonna annoy her._**

"Are you single? Will you date me?" an overly excited boy asked

"I'm flattered. Yes I am single and I don't plan on changing that status too soon"

"Okay everyone that's it! Let's begin our lesson!!"

**_Serena POV_**

The class was so damn boring. I'd already learned the uses of pronouns. In 4th Grade!! **_Oh well. Guess I shouldn't be hypocritical. I'm in _****_Japan_****_ after all._** I started drawing random patterns on my notebook just for the fun of it.

"R-Ryoma-k-k-kun"

The name brought back a stack of memories but I looked towards my neighbour who was stuttering the name. For a second I thought she had a fever or something. Her skin was a million shades of red and she was slightly shaking while she tried not to look front at something. Only that something turned out to be Ryoma Echizen. He was looking this way but I wasn't sure about what exactly he was looking at. Suddenly his eyes met mine for a brief second and I could see he was confused about something. I narrowed my eyes at him and his eyes went wide as if he'd just realized something vital. I turned my gaze away from him and went back to drawing.

**_Ryoma POV_**

**_Serena!! I finally remember!_**

* * *

**_Well that's it! I'll update the next chappie soon hopefully but please please please review!!! I'm begging!! I'm on my feet. No not that foot. Not the left. Yeah the right._**

**_.....hope you liked it._**

**_Thankyou 4 reading it n pls drop by a review-good or bad_**

**_Flames and critisicms are okay. Reviews and praises will be highly appreciated._**

**_^_^_**

**_PLEASEEEEE REEEEVIEW!!!!! I'm begging u!!_**

**_I'm desperate people!!!!!!!!_**

**_Review and u'll get a cookie!! XD_**

**_Sayonara!!_**


	3. Mysteries

**_Thanks 2 all my reviewers:_**

**_iRawrTera,_** **_xRandomKaren, Sweet Nightmare's Good Byes, Yuki Taiki, ZephirusFye,_******

**_Thanks 4 the lovely reviews and constructive criticism. I know my writing is strictly average (or maybe even lower lol) but I'm trying to improve it so any suggestion is appreciated. And of course English is my second language so I'm not such a good writer. By the way I'm hoping my OC isn't becoming too Mary Sue…  
Sorry for the late update as well…I can be real lazy when it comes to updating so I hope you'll forgive me for that!  
Well that's about it….also I've written another P.O.T. fanfic – Start Talkin! Feel free to check it out!  
Let the story begin! XD_**

**_Its my first story so be nice!!_**

_Chapter-3_

_Mysteries_

_Recap_

**_Serena! I finally remember!_**

_End of recap_

A cloud of regret and anger surrounded Ryoma as he recalled his past ….and that particular memory.

"Hey there! So you play tennis?"

Serena turned around to look at a boy with unibrows (yes we all know who this is…Horio…the dork) "Yes"

"So….you're going to join the tennis club?"

"Already did"

Horio was getting uncomfortable with the girl's single word answers but, unfortunately, he thought it was because she was shy. _This could be my chance to get a good reputation. She's new so she won't suspect a thing. _"Well I'm one of the regulars in the boys' tennis team you know."

The talk about the boys' tennis team brought Ryoma back to reality. He looked over to Horio and noticed what he was doing. _Typical Horio. I almost feel sorry for him. He doesn't know what he's getting himself into._

Serena well knew the boy was lying but she decided to have a little fun. Most people would label it as cruel but she was all about the sadists. "Oh…..so why don't I see you play a match today at lunch? I'll bring over an opponent and you can play him!"

"Sure!"  
Horio was overjoyed ._She can't_ _bring her cousin. He's still recovering from the last match at the Nationals and she doesn't know anyone else! Today is my lucky day! _Ryoma was appalled and for the very same reason. _I must be dreaming_.

She went back to drawing with a huge grin on her face.

Sooner than usual, the bell rang signaling the end of morning classes and the beginning of lunch break.  
"Everyone! I want an essay on whatever topic you chose by Wednesday. Class dismissed!" the sir called out as the class was dividing into groups of twos and threes and heading towards the cafeteria. The largest group by far was around Ryoma Echizen. (not fangirls…XD) Horio was still mad at Kachiro for sticking the ball in his mouth but was too elated to actually do anything about it. He was talking to the "new girl", or boasting more like. Sakuno and Tomoka made their way towards the tennis prodigy (okay maybe SOME fangirls…XD) and by their walk, it was routine.

The two girls were now with the four boys most of the time- Ryoma, Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo and they usually had lunch with all the regulars. But today Ryoma seemed to be occupied with something.

"Ryoma-sama!!" That screech was something Ryoma would recognize anywhere, partly because he was almost deaf because of the volume and partly because he'd been hearing it ever since he set foot in Japan. _Tomoka screeching. Check, Sakuno says…"_

"U-um konnichiwa Ryoma-k-kun"

_"Check…Horio comes…."_

_"Horio comes………hello! I said Horio comes?!?! Where is that hobo??" _ Ryoma had turned around just in time to see Horio's back disappear through the door followed by a swish of deep brown hair. _Serena?....and Horio? _He couldn't ponder anymore on the subject because of a particular loud screech bringing him back to reality and earning him an appointment at the ear doctor.

Meanwhile……

"So let me get this straight, you were the one who helped Ryoma Echizen defeat Kaoru Kaidoh and Sadaharu Inui by teaching him moves to render theirs useless? AND you didn't even take credit for it? You're also extremely talented in tennis and when you were supposed to join a Junior High school, all off them including Rikkaidai were begging you to join them but you joined Seigaku?" Serena said, feigning awe.

"You make it sound like its something big. I could defeat Kaidoh with my eyes closed." Horio was possibly bursting with pride.

"With all that you're probably going to ACE the match against Kaidoh!!" Serena said, finally slipping a hint.

"Of course! Wait…wha-WHAT??? Kaidoh??"

"Psssss, who was the opponent Misaki-kun?" Kaidoh came out of nowhere.

Horio and Kaidoh stared at each other for a moment and then Kaidoh said, "…what was that about defeating me with your eyes closed, freshman???"

"U-uh…nothing Kaidoh-kun. Ha-ha I was just joking around, right Serena-Chan?"

"Huh? But you did just say you could defeat Kaidoh with your eyes closed…" Serena trailed off innocently pretending to look confused.

Kaidoh glared at Horio so violently that Serena couldn't help but shudder a little herself and Horio ran away so fast that she could hardly see him at all. Then they heard a low chuckle emanating from the tree. _Oh my God! I've finally lost it!! The tree is *gulp* chuckling! Maybe my parents should have sent me to an asylum instead of sending me to Japan!!_ As she was thinking these bizarre thoughts the "tree" spoke.

"Well I must say I couldn't have done it better myself, Misaki-chan. You certainly don't seem like Tezuka's cousin." Suddenly Fuji appeared from behind the tree. _Oh! So its not the tree….well dammit!!_

"Uh-heh Thanks..."

"Why don't we join your cousin and the rest of the team for lunch shall we?"

Kaidoh was still bewildered at all that had suddenly happened and just stalked off towards the cafeteria. Serena nodded and went with Fuji in the general direction of the cafeteria.

They arrived at a front table with all the Seigaku Regulars present. The boys had huge amounts of food in front of them especially Momo. Serena grabbed a few random stuff and came back to sit with them. She saw that there were others too besides the Regulars at the table. The reddish brown haired girl sat beside Ryoma and so did her annoying talkative friend. Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo also sat there and Horio eyed Serena wistfully as he said, "That wasn't very nice you know." She flashed him a dazzling smile and replied, "Thankyou!" earning weird glances from everyone.

"You'd better get used to it if you want to survive the next few years at school" Ryoma murmured quietly

"How do you know?" Horio asked. Well, he _thought _he said it quietly

"No one asked for _your _opinion Mr. Ryoma Echizen." Serena glared coldly

Ryoma gazed steadily back at her but said nothing.

"Hey guys!!" Tera yelled as she came from out of thin air. There was another blue haired girl with her. The girl had bright blue hair and grey green eyes framed by short black lashes.

Once everyone was settled with Serena sitting beside Fuji and Momo and Tera with Sierra, which turned out to be the name of the blue haired girl, and Tezuka.

Serena and Momo were competing against each other seeing who was a faster eater. Ryoma stared across at the two wistfully and recalled another memory.

Ryoma grimaced at the memory. How could he have been so horrible?

Meanwhile Serena was being introduced to everyone.

"So Tera, I can see by your first name you weren't born in Japan?" she asked

"Nope. I'm a Swedish by birth but my family came back to Japan after I was 2."

"What about you Sierra?"

Sierra was staring at Fuji to no one's surprise in particular. She was always enthralled by him and was a second too late to answer Serena's question.

"Uh-um well I was born in Japan and went to Yamabuki Junior High. Then I joined Seishun High and I'm in Tera's class. We're juniors."

"Oh..." she replied simply but her mind was off wandering somewhere else.

"Hoi hoi! Do you guys know we're going on a field trip next week?" Eiji piped up

"Yes.. we were told of that. All of the freshmen, juniors and seniors are going to the nearby mountains for a hike and picnic for 2 nights." Oishi said

"We are?" Serena asked

Ryoma came with his lunch at that time and sat down beside the team. He had been pulled by the other freshmen for his autograph.

"Hey have you met our little kid?" Momo asked

"I don't think I want to" Serena said glaring

Everyone was staring at her in awe. They;d never seen her be outright rude. Ryoma looked back at her and told her, "Come with me."

They got up from the table and went to a secluded part of the cafeteria.

"I see you remember me Ryoma…" Serena said sneering at Ryoma's name.

"Look I never meant to be-"

"I don't need your apologies. If I'd known you were in this school I'd have transferred to St. Rudolph"

Ryoma was trying desperately not to get angry but he couldn't do it.

"Well that's nothing new cowardly as you are!" he hissed

She came up short and was speechless for a moment. "Well if that's what you think then you shouldn't be talking to me. Go make out with you fangirls or something…" she said and left.

Ryoma stared after her. He never wanted to hurt her but it was the only way he'd get her to stay because she had really meant what she said. She wouldn't give him a chance unless she was forced. He was feeling guilty as he went back to his class because behind all that anger and sarcasm there was pain. He'd hurt her over and over again and couldn't seem to stop.

The regulars just stared as he left the cafeteria and went back to his classroom. Even Tezuka was surprised though none of them had heard anything.

The rest of the school day seemed to pass by in a blur for Serena. Fuji and Inui were trying to figure out what had happened between the two but weren't too lucky with it. As the day drew to a close, Serena went over to the girls tennis courts. She was feeling bitter and angry. Seven years, seven years it had taken for her to heal from her last wound and now she felt as if God was pouring lemon on her paper cuts.

Luckily, she had a punching bag for the day.

"Feeling remorse for challenging me are you? Tell you what, if you kneel and apologize to me I won't humiliate you anymore." She heard a voice say. Being more angry than usual, Serena glared at her and said.

"Sure if you're that scared of losing to me, you can just go ahead and beg me for forgiveness.."

Her opponent flushed red but Serena didn't have time for games today. She finished the match within an hour. It was hard to do it, but she had to admit, the girl was pretty good. The blonde girl had won 4 games from her.

"Okay, everyone I want you all to be ready tomorrow. I'm holding practice matches to see who's in the team!"

"Hai!" Everyone called as they left the courts. She picked up all her things and set off when she saw a dark shadow at the school gates. Suddenly her vision was cut off by someone's hand on her eyes. She couldn't scream either as she was being gagged. "Don't make a move or…." The rest of the statement was only a whisper but Serena recognized who it was and her eyes went wide.

**_That's it! I'm sorry if this chapter is lame. I'm in a serious writer's block. Maybe I should get a beta? What do you guys think? Don't forget to review please! And if you think the chapter's too horrible just give me a few ideas and I'll rewrite it. I'm feeling dizzy…maybe I should visit a doctor. Thanks 4 the favourites and alerts. Thanks to all my reviewers for putting up with me. I love you guys a lot!_**

**_Ouch…Yeah I seriously need a doctor….To _****_Carlisle_****_! XD_**

**_Thanx again and bye bye everyone! And Keep reviewing!_**

**_~Dark~_**


	4. AN

**~ Hey there guys! ~**

**~ Well this is just an A/N. Sorry! I had a few announcements to make so here goes. ~**

**~ Firstly, I'm really really sorry that I haven't updated in a while. Apparently I had a lot of things to deal with like shoe stealing hoboes and some stalking business, not to mention all the brain eating homeworks. Moreover my exams are also still going on so I won't be able to update before the 23****rd**** of December…..I know! Which school end their exams on the day before Christmas eve?! ~**

**~ Oh well….anyways wish me luck for my exams people T.T I'm dying for all this studying T.T If you do I promise I'll update faster!! ~**

**~ Okay on with the 2****nd**** announcement, so I'm thinking Serena's becoming a bit too Mary-sue so I'm changing her character. I'm planning to give that she doesn't play tennis but is on the swim team. The other situation, events and parts of the story won't change but some of the events I'm going to delete. So tell me if you guys would like that. If you need to see how it is, I'll rewrite and post the last three chapters and you can tell me which version you prefer. ~**

**~ By the way, I'd like to remind you all that Bloodline is a horror/supernatural kind of story. At least I meant it to be like that….but I think its turning out a little different. Anyways, give me your opinion on whether you guys actually want horror or just normal romance/humor? Please leave me an answer through a review or PM! ~**

**~ Next I'd like to thank all those Lovely lovely people who have reviewed my story and added it to their story or author alert/favorites. You guys make my day!! ~**

**Aasta The Evil Bunny Foo Foo, vipers silent guardian, lingfeng, Ocean949, iRawrTera, Yuki Taiki and Sweet Nightmare's Goodbyes.**

**I'm really sorry if I left anyone out!**

**To Sweet Nightmare's Goodbyes: Thanks a lot for the great advice. I really appreciate it. I hope you'll continue to like my stories! ^.^**

**~ Well, I think that's it. Thanks for reading this! (If you have read it...XD)**

**Cheers! ~~~~~~ (yes I know I'm obsessed with this sign XD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**~Dark~**

**P.S. Check out my other stories:**

**~ Dream Dates: For Prince of tennis fans**

**~ Start Talkin!: For Prince of tennis fans who want some humor with their favourite teams!**

**~ Once in a Blue Moon: Twilight story**

**~ Dream Dates and Advice: For Inuyasha Fans. I haven't started writing it cuz the first chap is only asking you guys about whether I should write a SesshyxRin fanfic or SesshyxOC so I'm gonna start writing after the exams. But you guys can give me ideas if you want!**


	5. Trip down memory Lane

_**A/N: My usual rant is at the end of the chapter. XD So here's chapter 4, as you so rightly deserve….Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Tera's POV**_

"Bull's eye!" I grinned as the arrow hit the mark.

"Very good, Kisame-san. Your aim is improving,"

I smiled at my sensei, "Maybe, but I need to get better."

"All the same, that was very good," he smiled back.

"All the more reason to practice more so that I don't get shady."

I looked to my other side. Tezuka was there shooting one after another arrow, never missing his mark. I stared at him awestruck. No matter how many times I'd seen him to this, I never got over how perfectly he shot his arrow. Not a hint of hesitation, no nervousness and filled with calm. It felt like the arrow was a part of him, and that was what he told me once, when I first joined here.

**-Flashback-**

Back then, I was such a grouch. I'd hated my parents for putting me in Archery lessons. I'd kicked, screamed and left my entire house in ruins. I'd even threatened to spread the picture of my Dad dancing in an empty room, in the internet, but all to no avail.

My parents were so adamant. "What will you do if you're in trouble and we're not around?" They'd say and I'd just glare. When I first arrived, I'd made it my mission to do as horrible as I could. I succeeded in the first two weeks. But then, Tezuka came. Of course, he was only 11 or so, then. And yet, there was something about him that drew me to him. He took his gear and the sensei led him to the target beside mine.

I was immediately suspicious. Sensei usually tried his best to keep students _away _from me. I narrowed my eyes and glared at the boy and he calmly looked back at me. No hint of anger in his eyes, even though I was glaring a hole through his forehead. His eyes looked straight back at me and after a while, I was forced to look away. I began my archery, but I wasn't really concentrating.

I watched him from the corner of my eye, scrutinizing his every move. He was perfect, even then. I tried to shoot the arrow at the mark just like him, but failed miserably. From that day on, I vowed I would beat him one day. I practiced all the time, from then on.

On one fine day, I was ready. I'd practiced long and hard. I challenged Tezuka (I'd learned his name by then). I tried with all I had but as you can imagine, I couldn't beat him.

"How? How are you so good? I've practiced day and night and you still beat me!! And Archery isn't even your favourite sport!!" I glared as he got another point..

He looked back at me calmly and began reassembling all his gear into his bag. Minutes passed, but he was as quiet as could be. I lost hope, and concluded that he wouldn't answer me. Why should he? Ever since he came, I've hated him. Hated him for his perfection. But it was actually jealousy….and remorse. I hated the fact that for one small thing, I'd given my parents so much trouble. Not only them, but also my sensei who had always been kind to me no matter what. And now, everybody hated me. Everyone.

I felt a warm hand on my head and looked up to see Tezuka. He was only 12 but he already towered over me. His eyes held a kind of sympathetic expression.

"Don't practice doing something just to defeat someone. Be that music, art or sport. They're meant to give you happiness, so when you do something, love it. Love it and make it a part of you, and you'll rise above anyone else."

I stared at him, dumb founded. He removed his hand from my head and handed me my things, before walking away. It took me a while to take it all in, everything he had just said to me. I put my hand up to my head, to the place where his hand had been, only a minute ago.

**End Flashback-**

"Kisame-san, its time to go," I gave a start at the voice and saw Tezuka looking at me awkwardly.

I flushed a little, "Sorry Tezuka-kun. I guess I spaced out, and I told you not to call me Kisame-san. It makes me feel old," I grinned sheepishly.

He disregarded my comment and handed me my things, which were already packed. Apparently, I'd been more 'out of it' thatn I expected, since I hadn't even noticed him packing my things. I took them from him and thanked him for going through all the trouble. His modest and typical reply was a 'no problem.'

I took leave of my sensei and stepped out through the double doors. The scenery outside was beautiful. There was a chilly breeze blowing and the red leaves of the trees were swaying as if they were dancing and enjoying the peaceful evening as well. The sun was going down and the sky was a blur of colours. It was a breathtaking sight. I stood there, marveling at the beauty of nature, for a while.

A while later I felt a presence behind me. It was the ice prince himself. He was standing there patiently, as if waiting for me. Wait a minute…..he _was _waiting for me. Why, though?

"Um, Kunimitsu-kun?"

"Hn"

"Aren't you going to go home?"

"Hn."

I stared at him, confused. This was sure out of character. But I decided not to ask anymore since I was pretty sure I wouldn't get any reply. So instead I began walking in a brisk pace towards the general direction of my home.

The sky was beginning to get dark. I gave a light yawn in boredom. Being with Tezuka made no difference, whatsoever, to being alone. He was always so quiet! It always annoyed me how he could go on for ages without talking. You'd have thought that the man was dumb.

There was still that aura of calm and surety around him. And even now, it drew me to him. It wasn't love; no of course not. On the contrary, I couldn't think of anyone who'd want to spend their life with someone as boring as him. Sure his fangirls would go nuts over him, but even they couldn't stand his boring attitude. At least I didn't think so.

All of that made me wonder if that's what he was really like. I was always curious about him. Hadn't anyone seen what was under that calm façade? Hadn't they ever wanted to take a look at the man behind that mask of perfection?

For a while, I'd forgotten that Tezuka was with me. He was practically invisible. I turned around to crack a joke about it, but he really was gone. At least, I couldn't seen him. I was confused for a while, before I realized that his house was on the other road from the last intersection. He must have gone that way then.

I turned back to face the familiar road to my house but it wasn't there. No, I'd never been here before. All that was left was the dark alley way in front of me. Had I taken a wrong turn somewhere? I groaned in annoyance. Leave it to me to forget where my own house was. Well, what now? Huh…that was obvious, even to me. I tried to retrace my steps and after about fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, I concluded that I was lost.

The last rays of light disappeared as the sun went down. The alley became pitch black, like some scene in a horror movie. I rolled my eyes to myself. What was about to happen now? I'd run into some goons and get raped and killed? Huh! Yeah, right…I laughed internally. Life wasn't a soap opera. And besides, even if that did happen, I had my bow and arrows.

A small twinge of fear gripped me as I considered that possibility. I groped for my bow, in the dark, just to be on the safe side, but I couldn't find it. _Dammit! Curse this darkness_… I muttered. How was I supposed to find my way around in the dark?

I looked around, seeing nothing, when I heard a soft creak. A light shone in the alleyway and I heard someone muttering and cursing. All of a sudden, there was a dim light in my face. I scrutinized the face of the man. He had a grim face and unshaven beard. He was swaying in the dark and approaching me. The light was that of a cigarette lighter; the ones which have small laser lights with them, and he held it in his hands.

"Well, hello there, hun. Are you lost?"

"Um…no, I just took a short cut to my house today. Its around the corner," I replied a little shakily, trying to find my bow again, but to no avail.

"Don't worry. Why don't you come with me…I've got a nice bed which'l suit your pretty body just fine 'eh?" he grinned evilly.

My face showed a horrified expression. Me and my big mouth. How come the good things in TV never happened in real life?

I felt a hard grip on my wrist and a voice very close to my ear. "No need to be afraid. You smell very good, better than the previous one. So I'll be gentle with you."

I could smell his wine-breath and it sent shivers down my spine. My wrist was starting to ache. He was cutting my circulation. I heard him sniffing my hair and took advantage of his momentary distraction and kicked him with all my strength. A loud groan in the dark and my released wrist told me that I had reached my mark.

"Fuck you, bitch!" was the last thing I heard before I ran.

I ran as if I had never run in my life. My wrist was still aching, and my heart was drumming in my ears. Fear had taken over me. I had to keep running. Occasionally, I thought I heard footsteps behind me, but I could not be sure. I wondered if my pursuer was following me but I took no chances. I was getting tired and I didn't know for how long I'd been running and pretty soon, I was panting loudly.

At one point, I tripped on my traditional archery dress and fell. Why had I picked today of all days, to not change before going home? Why me? I waited for the impact to come, ready to scramble back up and start running again. But it never came. Instead I felt two strong arms wrap around me. At first I thought that it was my pursuer, so I struggled to regain control. But as soon as I heard his soft voice, an unfamiliar sense of security washed over me, and a low scared cry escaped from my lips.

"Don't worry, I'm here," It was amazing, how only those four words could make me so calm.

I gripped his shirt tighter and buried my face in his neck , expecting him to push me away, but he only put his arms tighter around me. I welcomed it, no doubt and closed my eyes, still breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry," he said, softly in my ear. I gave the smallest smile and had strength enough to say only two words before I black out.

"….Thankyou….Kunimitsu…"

* * *

_**A/N: Well hi there again guys!! Hope you've been well and happy. I guess it's a little too late for me to wish you guys a merry Christmas and happy new year, but all the same, I hope you've enjoyed you holidays!**_

_**Firstly, a loud shoutout and cookies (XD) for all my reviewers:**_

**_iRawrTera, Yuki Taiki, Sweet Nightmare's Good Byes , Ocean949, Nao-chan 33!!!_****_  
_**

_**You guys ROCK! Thanks so much for encouraging me to go on! You don't know how much I love you guys! All the reviews about loving my story, and telling me to update soon is really giving me a lot of fuel! Also, a lot of people have put me in the alert list, about 20 or so. So if you guys could leave a few reviews, I'd really appreciate it. IT doesn't need to be anything flashy. Anything simple is enough to make me burst with happiness. Sorry guys, I don't wanna sound stingy but I'd love it if I could get at least six reviews for this chapter...?**_

_**Lots of thanks to iRawrTera, my beta-classmate-bestie for constantly nagging me to update this story and getting me in trouble with the History teacher! XD**_

_**Now, moving on, I know I've been really late in updating this chapter and I'm really sorry about that. But see, I've been EXTREMELY busy lately so I hope you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me. I've got my report card day coming up on the 30**__**th**__** so I'm begging you to pray for mua. My mom's gonna ground me for two months if I don't do well. And believe me, she means it….**_

_**Okay, so I'll try to update sooner next time. I hope you liked this chapter. As, you've read, It had some fluff between Tezuka and one of my OC's (since the main pairings are RyomaOC, FujiOC and TezukaOC) So please leave a review, guys, if you liked it and if not, any constructive criticism would honour me as well! (as long as you're not mean =.=)**_

_**Finally, I've begun writing a new Bleach fanfiction, a HitsugayaOC story, so if you're interested in that stuff, please check out my story and leave a review about what you think of it!**_

_**Well, that's it for now! Thankyou and Goodnight!!**_

**_-This is Darkmaiden, signing out!_**


	6. Surprise! Surprise!

**Hey there y'all!! What up? I know I've been gone for some time and I have also missed our dear tensai's birthday. I was really hoping to get this chapter done by then but as usual there was no time. So, anyways, a VERY late Happy Birthday to Syuusuke Fuji! XD Me and my friends DID celebrate his birthday at school. My friend has a keychain of him and she brought it to school along with a small cake and all. And then I and another friend gave her a toothbrush (from me) and soap (from her) to Fuji to keep her keychain clean. She even handed out invitation cards on the day before. XD As I said before, we are practically nuts XP. Anyways, here's a loud shoutout to all my faithful readers who have helped this story progress. Thank you all very much to:**

**iRawrTera, Yuki Taiki, Nao-chan33, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu and naruto-lover 1235. Love you all! (except for naruto lover because he's my brother XP)**

**So it was my brother's birthday on the 26****th**** and my dad got ME a new laptop so I decided to use it to give you guys a treat. To show you how much I appreciate you all! Thanks so much for all you help and support! So here's another chapter for you. Hope you enjoy and tell me what you think about it!**

**Disclaimer: I really don't see the point in having these….I do not own P.O.T or any of its characters blah blah blah.**

* * *

"OUCH!" a male voice groaned in pain. He hopped around like a kangaroo holding up his right foot, "I see you haven't changed a bit."

"Did you really expect me to?" Serena asked innocently.

"Nope. But how come you didn't give us a call as soon as the plane landed?"

"I dun no. I guess I forgot."

"Harsh, Rin. Harsh. You're just as sadistic as ever."

"Thanks a lot Hiroshi. You really know how to compliment a girl," she flashed him a smirk.

"That might have been true. If you _were _a girl, that is." He was playing with her.

"And what is that supposed to imply?" her expression seemed very serious. Exactly what Hiroshi had been aiming for. He knew he'd strike a nerve by insulting her about the smallest things. That was just the kind of person she was.

"Simply, that I find you leaning mostly on the male side, putting aside your _slightly _feminine appearance of course," he gave a mischievous grin.

"_Slightly _feminine?"

"Oh yes. You see, the only feminine thing about you would be-"The rest of his statement was cut off by a very loud bonk- which would probably explain the huge bump on the crown of his head.

"Your first meeting after such a long time and all you two can do is quarrel over something that isn't even _relevant!"_ a female voice chided them.

"I'm sowy mommy," Serena said in a mockingly innocent tone.

"Yeah, aw you gonna punish me? Pwease don't!" Hiroshi caught on to her act. The female just gave an annoyed grunt and rolled her eyes. The two burst out in laughter at their own kiddish tones as the girl cracked a small smile at their childish innocence.

Serena was the first to stop laughing. She took the chance to look over her old friends. Hiroshi Yoshito- one of her oldest childhood friends. His deep brown hair matched her own and his eyes were of the clearest blue. They were always filled with laughter and mischief. In fact, she and Hiroshi were known as the pranksters of their neighborhood back when they used to be neighbours, classmates, unbiological siblings and best friends. He had always been there for her through thick and thin and there wasn't a moment that wasn't filled with laughter when he was around.

And then there was Hanako Yoshito. Hiroshi's twin sister. She looked exactly like him. But as the saying goes, 'Don't judge a book by its cover', their case was just the same. Both of them were exactly alike in looks and exact opposites in personality. That one statement could suffice. She had the same charm of making people laugh and was cheerful just like her brother. But there was a seriousness in her personality. She would laugh when the time came for it but she knew the limits- a quality which Serena so apparently lacked, which was a major factor for the numerous detentions she'd gotten.

Both of these friends had once lived next door to Serena. They'd been there through the biggest tragedy of her life and helped her through it. But when she'd moved to Seattle, they had moved back to Japan for their father's business. 3 years. It had been three whole years since she had seen them. They were both older than him by about a year but the differences between their previous and current appearances were startling. What was before a round boyish face was longer and more mature. Both were taller but Hiroshi must have already been 5'10 at least. Now Hanako looked like the younger one of the two even though she was a full five minutes older. _Time really does change people doesn't it?_ Serena thought to herself. It made her happy to see that despite their physical differences, they had still retained their happy-go-lucky personality and cheerful demeanor. Lately, she'd been so confused among the sudden changes, that it felt as if her old life was just a dream. Another life. But, seeing these two people here, unchanged, enabled her to make some sense of her disheveled life.

"By the way, how come you seemed so upset when I tried to kidnap you after school?" Hiroshi asked in his usual funny-but-serious way.

The question brought back the memories of her recent encounter with the green haired…traitor. She wished he hadn't brought it up but tried to ignore the rising anger inside her, "It's nothing. I just had a rough day." She dismissed the subject. Hiroshi and Hanako were thoroughly confused and a little worried by the depression in her eyes, but decided to leave it, though reluctantly. She had a habit of bottling up her emotions and when it overflowed, she would deliberately be rude to others to let it all out. The habit didn't repel the siblings but it made them sympathize with her. She was after all kind of like an orphan. But pressing her about the subject wouldn't do any good so they didn't push her.

* * *

Tick tock Tick tock Tick tock. The seconds tocked by yet it seemed time was stretching on forever. The teacher seemed to drabble on…and on….and on….and on. It was utterly boring. The whole prospect of coming to school these days bored her. No, she had worded that wrong. It wasn't school, in general that bored her. It was the classes. With no one but Ryoma in her class, it was highly likely that she would fall asleep. Sometimes it amused her to watch the fangirls-Tomoka and Sakuno, especially- hang on Ryoma's word and movement in fact. Tomoka was the most outspoken. She was so screechy it disgusted her to watch. Sakuno was exactly the same- only she had the sense not to try to turn everyone within a ten mile radius, deaf with her screams. Serena really hadn't meant to be judgmental. She had really and truly tried to like them and find their positive points, such as the fact that Tomoka always stood up for her friends and Sakuno was a really kind person. But the simple truth was that their negative qualities had overruled their positive ones. In any case, she just couldn't bring herself to really like them. So she was content to just stay away from them.

Moreover, another practice match among the girls in the tennis club had brought forward some really talented players. The dumb blonde- as she preferred to call her- had turned out to be pretty good despite her fangirliness but there were others more talented than her. Raiuta, a senior, was the best among them by far. Serena considered her as an equal and in their first match she had been defeated by one point after tying with her 6-6. Moreover, Raiuta was simple and very sweet. She had a cheerful personality and was good in most things. With all that, it was safe to say that Raiuta should be the Captain for the girls' team. Serena, herself, didn't really want Captaincy. She was a freshman after all. Plus all the responsibility was going to drive her nuts so better someone else than her, right?

Then there were the introductions. Hiroshi was already enrolled in another High School- Rikkaidai, probably and so was Hanako. Luckily, they had been able to meet the Seigaku Regulars at the park in the afternoon. Overall, they had all had a pretty good time. Hanako had quite a few issues with Momo and Kaidoh's constant bickering and Fuji and Inui's sadisticness had thoroughly creeped her out. Hiroshi, on the other hand, had proclaimed that he was finally among his kinsmen with Serena, Momo, Fuji and Inui as they all had a wonderful time blackmailing a certain viper about his fear of the occult and all things supernatural. Hanako showed a certain sisterly fondness towards Eiji because of his childishness and Serena agreed with her. Eiji was the only person, after all, who had become hyper and jumped around with her after they had both had two cans of soda. Everyone agreed that Tezuka was a brick wall and Oishi was a gift from the Gods or else they would have all turned into drunkards and drowned in a lake or something. Ryoma had been late in arriving and to say that his_ reunion_ with the twins was cold, would be an understatement. Hiroshi and Ryoma glared at each other for a full five minutes and Hanako looked nervously between the two. After that, they did not even acknowledge each other except for making a few vague yet snide comments about the other. But except for that _mishap _the day was pretty successful.

And now, Serena was sitting here begging the bell to ring.

"AH-HEM!" she heard someone cough in her ears.

"I'm sorry sir, do you need the name of a good cough medicine?" she asked innocently. She laughed internally as she watched the teacher turn red in anger.

"Miss Misaki, I'm afraid I'll have to punish you for your actions."

"Another detention sir? But we have a practice match this-"

"No, no, no. I am not talking about detention. Those don't seem to work on you for some reason."

"What can I say sir? It's a talent," she gave a grin.

"This is Japan, Misaki. You will call me sensei, not your fancy American, sir!"

"Hai Sir- I mean sensei."

The teacher had his eyes narrowed at her as he spoke, "So as I was saying, you will be participating in my Club once a week starting from today."

"But sir, I already-"

"No buts, Misaki. I want you there or you will be banned from the tennis club." The strange glimmer of sadistic joy in his eyes might have possibly been the eyes of the devil himself.

"Yes sir,"

"SENSEI!" he shouted before leaving, as little bits of phlegm shot out of his mouth and landed on a few unlucky students, including her. "Room 404." He added and exited as the bell finally decided to ring.

_Stupid bell just loves to torture me doesn't it?_ She groaned and headed out. Plus that had been the last class! She had been looking forward to scheduling a training camp for the girls' team more than anything. And now she'd have to go to some club she didn't even know about. Oh joy.

"Raiuta!" she called out as she entered the girls' courts.

"Yes taichou," she replied solemnly as she walked over.

Serena waved her hands airily to dismiss the title, "I got stuck with cooking classes so I won't be here on Thursdays. Take over for me. And by the way, you're the Captain." She gave a congratulatory pat and smile before heading off.

A sea of students greeted her as she walked out towards the general direction of Rooms 400 and onwards. They were walking away in the opposite direction she was heading. It was a depressing sight. 400…401…402…403…and there it was! Room # 404. She was curious as to what club the pug-faced sir actually took. There was a sign on the door that read 'Cooking Club'. Oh, so that was what he thought…cooking. _Wait a minute, COOKING?!?! Please tell me I'm having a nightmare…_she anticipated the horror of cooking classes. To say that she was bad at it would have been an understatement. _Oh dear…_well, at least that explained the pug-faced part.

* * *

The Regulars in the Boys' Courts had a clear view of the Girls' courts. So it puzzled them when Serena was nowhere in sight. She was excited enough about scheduling a training camp so why wasn't she here?

"Maybe she got held back for not doing her homework," a bright redhead suggested.

"As I said before, Eiji that only applies to you" Fuji gave his signature close-eyed smile.

"Hey Echizen, do you know what happened to her?" Oishi asked, a little nervous after their little 'encounter' during lunch before.

"She got stuck in cooking classes instead of detention. The poor teacher and members," Ryoma gave a humored smirk as he pulled down his cap and continued his warm up with Momo. Everyone was confused by his vague reply but Tezuka seemed slight alarm was given away by the looks he sent towards the cooking club rooms.

**BOOM!!!!!!** The explosion alarmed everyone. It seemed to have come from inside the cooking club. The one question in everyone's mind was 'What the hell is going on in there?'

* * *

"MISAKI!! What the hell did you do????!!!!"

The entire room was filled with smoke so dense no one could make out each other's silhouettes. Several of the students' faces were black because of the explosion and at the heart of it all was Serena herself. Both of her hands were clasped around a glass container which did not have the right to be called a bowl anymore. It was shattered and chipped around the edges with the largest fragments being one inch long. The oven in front of her was black and covered in soot but it was in a worse condition than the students. By the looks of it, it wouldn't survive. Goodbye, oven.

"I just put the batter in a bowl and put it in the oven, sir!"

"YOU DON'T PUT GLASS IN OVENS!!!"

"I didn't know that sir!" she said, trying to find her way around.

"WHAT ARE YOU? A KNUCKLEHEAD?! ITS BASIC KNOWLEDGE!"

"About cooking! My guardians never let me into a kitchen in my life!"

"Clearly for good reason. They wouldn't want their house to be BLOWN UP!"

"Oh very funny, sir," she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"SENSEI!"

"Okay okay. Just don't torture me with your flying spit." The teacher was clearly in a state where he was not to be intimidated but the look on his face was so funny, Serena could not help but laugh. She clamped a hand over her mouth and ran for it before the teacher could blow up. She clearly did not want another explosion.

She ran through the corridors bursting out in laughter once she was safely out of earshot. That must have been the most hilarious sight she had ever witnessed. She almost felt regretful for not taking a camera along with her. It would have been completely worth it. She ran freely, thinking the corridors were empty as most people would be in their respective clubs. What she hadn't noticed was the person walking towards the direction she was coming from. One minute her feet were planted safely on the ground and the next she had bumped into someone and almost fallen had she not caught his shirt in the nick of time. But that didn't prevent her from falling. It just meant that they both fell- one on top of the other.

Serena's eyes registered sharp golden cat's eyes opened wide in surprise with bangs of bottle green fell gracefully on his forehead. Her own eyes registered astonishment- the likes of which she had never experienced before- as she fell face first on top of him. He was so close she could smell him- something like grape- and feel his breath stop in mid-exhaling. It felt so strange but she couldn't move. It was as if her brain had lost all control of her body. And in the midst of this awkward haze, her mind could only whisper one shocked word.

_Ryoma…_

* * *

_**A/N: Ohhhhhhh that was an awkward ending was it not? Not exactly a cliffhanger since I've revealed the somewhat obvious name of 'him' but not such a satisfying ending either is it? Why is Serena 'sort of' an orphan? What is the reason behind her, Hiroshi and Hanako's obvious aversion to our favourite little prodigy? And more importantly, WHAT is going to happen now? And what happened to Tera?! Stay tuned for more and remember TO LEAVE A REVIEW! The faster you do the faster I will update so please do so! It will really encourage me to write more and of course constructive criticism is welcome as well. Thank you!**_

_**~Dark~**_

_**P.S.- For those who are wondering, Fuji and Sierra's relationship WILL blossom. I just have to find the right time for it XP. Maybe in the next chapter or something. Anyways, thank you and Goodbye!**_


	7. Break from School

_**Yo peoples! What up? Here's another special chapter for all you wonderful readers out there. Here's a shoutout to all you people:**_

_**iRawrTera, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu, Shadow Mistress-of death,Yayz!!,TotalPrinceofTennisFan07, xoXO Anime girl xOxO and makoko!!! (Hello new reviewers 3)**_

_**You guys are in the top-10 of my list of People I love! Thankyou all very much!**_

_**Now, on with the chapter!**_

* * *

She twisted a bit on the bed as the red covered the vision behind her eyelids. It was only at moments like these that her immense dislike for the sun, surfaced. That, and the days when it was too hot. But that was beside the point. Tera kept moving in the bed trying to find the best possible position to clear her view of the sun. It was refusing to let her sleep! Wait, the sun was completely up. And she was trying to go to sleep. As the final clues clicked, she jumped up hastily and directed her glance to the bedside clock. 12:30 pm! There was absolutely no way they would even _let her into _the school at this time. She gave a sigh. At least that would mean that she could get the day off. The thought of not going to school for one day cheered her up immensely, though she would miss her friends. She wondered if Tezuka would bring her the assigned homework. Or maybe she should just wing it when she went to school the following day, and act like she had been unconscious the entire day? As if the teachers would actually believe it. Oh well, just fantasizing about the privileges she could enjoy cheered her up just as much.

She tried to get out of bed but as she was about to plant her feet on the ground, her right knee gave a painful lurch. She uncovered the blanket that was wrapped around her, and looked at her leg. The right leg of her pajamas was pulled up above her knee, the edge digging into her thigh. But the sight that shocked her most was the big swell at her right knee. It was visible beneath all the bandages so that must have meant that it was a lot bigger than what she was seeing. The injury definitely puzzled her and she needed only a minute of thinking back to recall the events that had taken place the previous night.

The sudden realization startled her. How could it have not hit her as soon as she had awoken? She closed her eyes and the entire event came back to her like a flashback.

_Don't worry. I'm here._

The two small statements she could remember with perfect clarity. It was almost demeaning how she could remember that and not the dates for History. But she could still feel the calming effect that they had on her. It was instantaneous. That was- until the rest of the memory resurfaced. She stiffened at the thought of how she had acted. It was perfect. Perfectly _stupid. _She had practically demeaned herself in front of him. Hugging him as tightly as she had done was impossibly embarrassing and even a situation as tense as that was not an excuse for her behavior. She felt her face warming and a light blush crept up to her cheeks. So now she was _blushing?_ Maybe, she had hit her head or something because this was _not _possible.

''Ugh…thinking about all this is making my head hurt'' she muttered aloud, rubbing her head as she squeezed he eyes shut and fell back on the bed. In the end, she concluded that it was a late reaction due to sudden shock of someone trying to …sort of..uh…kidnap her. She dismissed the thought and left it at that. She heard the door slide open noiselessly and directed her glance towards the approaching figures.

"Oh, my dear daughter, my Tera. How are you feeling?" her worried mother put her arms around Tera in a gentle hug. Her hair was down and messy and she looked like she hadn't slept for hours. Clearly, she had been worrying.

"Mom, you worry too much. I'm fine!" Tera gave her mother a bright smile.

"Fine my foot! You don't know how worried we've been. You should be glad Tezuka was around." Her dad came bursting into the room with his fake-angry expression on, which clearly meant that he had been worried too.

"Oh, but I _do _know how worried you've been. That's why it looks like you got even more bald. I didn't even know that was possible." She flashed him a grin to show that she was truly just fine.

Her father snorted indignantly and crossed his arms as he came closer. Tera kept her grin on and before she knew it, she was being crushed in a combined bear hug by both her parents. She felt as if her heart would burst in happiness. Knowing that you are loved and that there are people out there who really care about, is an indescribably joyous feeling. It was beyond anything money could buy.

The door slid open again like the glass doors in offices or hospitals.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kisame, the doctor is here. And there is a young man waiting downstairs as well." A young lady informed them. She wore a maid's outfit and carried a small tray of water in her hand, which she placed on the bedside table as her mother talked softly.

"Tell them both to come up."

"Yes ma'am." She said before leaving through the translucent doors.

A few minutes later Tera found herself face to face with the cheerful family doctor. He was examining her knee carefully while talking and joking at the same time. Her father knew quite a lot of influential people and the connections really paid off when it came to emergencies.

"So Tera-san. You thought you'd go for a little crime fighting in the streets, did you?" Her parents had left the room for a while and the only person present were the sad patient, the doctor and the stoic young man who was sitting silently in a chair at the corner of the room. No one would have noticed his presence had they not looked around the room properly.

"Um…actually I just got lost while I was day dreaming," Tera felt a little embarrassed at having to say this in front of the two guests. She wasn't very well-known for her day dreaming. That was more like Serena, as Tezuka would know.

The doctor gave a little chuckle at her reluctant answer but didn't say anymore as he continued his checkup silently. For the next ten or so minutes, no one uttered a single word as Tera listened to the doctor and obeyed the actions he asked her to carry out.

And then, he gave a final nod and explained her condition to her. "I think I'll go talk to your parents about this." He got up and prepared to leave when Tezuka interrupted.

"How is her condition?" His tone was calm, lowered and polite.

"It's nothing major. Just a small sprain." He told him before turning back so that him and Tera were face to face and Tezuka could only see his back.

"You're a very lucky girl, Tera." He added with a wink and turned to leave the room, closing the door behind him.

For a second Tera was astonished. Why had he winked like that? What could it possibly mean? She was pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with her injury being 'just a sprain' but what else could it have been? That--? She tried to think of a possible explanation but her mind came up blank before she realized that she was alone with Tezuka in the room. Um…okay…._awkward!!_ She tried to think of something to say but her mind seemed devoid of all good subjects to talk about. She had survived the wrath of teachers by calmly talking her way out of it and also the wrath of her parents. But she couldn't think of a simple subject to talk about with her best childhood friend?

They both sat in a hushed and awkward silence.

"So…uh…did you get any injuries..or anything?" she asked, a little lamely, as she thought.

"No." His reply was straightforward.

Another awkward silence ensued as they both just sat there. Tera took a deep breath and calmed herself. She wasn't about to let shock make a complete fool out of her.

"Okayyy….awkward." she grinned at Tezuka who gave no reply but to shift into a more comfortable position in his chair; though internally, he was glad that the awkward moment between them had passed and that she was back to being much like her old self. It relieved him somewhat.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in his usual stoic manner but Tera could tell that he didn't really mind her.

"What are you? My dad?" she asked with a snort.

He gave a little sigh but didn't answer.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"You think I'm childish don't you?!"

"No."

"Yes you do!"

"Get some rest." He said as he got up and disappeared behind the door.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu, you get back here this instant! A sprained leg isn't going to stop me from kicking your butt!" she called out, laughing as she spoke.

'I'm sure it won't' Tezuka thought to himself as he descended the stairs and prepared to head home. Things were finally going right in his world.

* * *

(Back to Serena)

_Ryoma…._For an infinite second she was frozen. Her brain could register just the one name and her arms and legs laid limp as if she had suddenly lost the ability to move. She could practically smell his sweet grapey scent. His eyes were wide open with his pupils dilated, mimicking her own shocked expression. Then, after those 60 long milliseconds, her brain registered their extremely close proximity and her brain regained its control over her body.

Within a matter of seconds, she was up on her feet. Her face felt very hot and she was pretty sure that meant that it was about a hundred shades of scarlet. She watched as Ryoma got up slowly and brushed the dust off from his pants. His hair hid his eyes so she had no chance to see in what state his emotions were in.

"Next time, look where you're going." He said emotionlessly before walking away leaving a stunned Serena behind to brood over what had just happened.

* * *

_**Well, what do you think? Liked it? Hated it? Thought Tezuka was a bit OOC? (I'm sorry if you think so. I really tried my best to get into that dense head of his!!) Whatever you thought of this chapter, just post it in a review! We're going a bit slow and focusing on their feelings for now, but don't worry-things will heat up from the next chapter onwards! SO. leave. A. REVIEW! By the way, guys, if you like La Corda D'oro- check out my new story -Static. =D**_

_**~Dark~ **_


	8. Locked Memories

_**Hello again everyone! I'm extremely sorry for updating this chapter so late, even more so, since this chapter is so short. I just finished exams yesterday and things about halogens and the Meiji Restoration are still floating around in my head. Anyways, I won't bother you with my A/N for any longer.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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The sky was a perfect shade of blue and white balls of fluff flew by serenely. It was a beautiful scenery; nature was in a fabulous mood today, Ryoma noted as he stared outside. Serena was shooting him nasty glances from the right whenever the teacher looked away, which he hardly did. Ryoma didn't blame him though. She _had _literally incinerated the cooking club room.

"So, we will be having a field trip on Monday, meaning after the weekend is over. Please have your tickets with you or you will not be allowed in the bus. Our destination this year will be the beautiful mountains where you will learn about various plant and animal species. Remember to take notes and any person caught causing mischief-" here he sent a dirty look towards the brown haired girl, while she stared innocently back, "-will not be taken sight seeing and they will remain in their rooms for the remainder of the trip."

The thought of going on a field trip delighted everyone but it really wasn't too much of an exciting prospect for Ryoma. Of course, he was going with all the other classes so that meant his senpais would go as well, but he would much rather go to a tennis training camp or a tournament to beat some strong opponents. As the teacher droned on about banned items and stinkbombs (an addition made after he had a particularly bad encounter with Serena), Ryoma's thoughts stretched into the past.

-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-

"_She should be here any minute!" A boy with golden eyes said, pleadingly._

"_I'm sorry son. We've already waited for far too long. You have to default." A kindly man looked sympathetically at the young boy. Him and his partner had so far, won every single match in the Tournament. And yet, today on the day of the Final match, his partner was running late. They had already waited fifteen minutes for her but no more time could be wasted. It was simply unacceptable._

_The young boy looked down at the ground, his hair shielding his eyes, accepting his fate. To the 8 year old Ryoma Echizen, this match was as important as his life. Him and his best friend were so close to winning and now she had ruined it with her ill timing. Rage took over him. It was undeniably stupid to have ever trusted someone so completely like that. She had promised that they would go home with the first prize. She had promised that she wouldn't be late and yet she had. He would never forgive Serena Misaki._

…_..That evening…_

_The young boy lay in his bed, looking over his tennis racket. A small creak of his door alerted him to the presence of someone lingering at the entrance to his room. He knew who it was and he knew what she wanted._

"_What do you want Misaki?" He asked harshly. His curt demeanor dealt a blow to the girl. He had never used that tone with her or called her by her last name. It was not a good sign._

"_Ryo…I'm-" Her words were cut short by an interruption from Ryoma._

"_I prefer you called me Echizen." The second blow had left its mark, "And save your apologies, please. They won't really work."_

"_But I can explain!" Serena retaliated. She was slightly angry at him for refusing to hear her out, but she was mostly afraid._

"_It's fine Serena. I don't need your explanations and I don't need your friendship. I prefer you stayed away from me from now on. But please, next time- try to keep your promises." He wasn't yelling and he wasn't being harsh. In fact, his face displayed no emotion as he turned to look at the girl he once called his friend._

_The sight of her shocked him, somewhat. Her pale skin was covered in a dark substance which looked like ash and her hair was in a wild mess. But the sight that astonished him the most, was the bandages wrapped around her right arm. The arm was wound tightly and there was almost double the amount of bandages than usual. He wondered what could have caused such an accident, but Serena, apparently failed to notice his surprise._

_There were tears threatening to fall from her eyes, as she tried to hold them in._

"_Well, then I guess you'll get your wish. I never want to see you again Ryoma Echizen." She managed to whisper through her tears. She tried to show only the anger but even then, the boy could see through her transparent façade. She turned her back on him and ran down the stairs and into the clear night while Ryoma could only stare guiltily._

_The following morning, he had made up his mind to apologize to her. He was still angry at her for breaking her promise, but on his way out, his father called out to him._

"_Hey kid! Where do you think you're going?"_

"_To Rin's place," he replied. The nickname had come out without intention- a definite force of habit._

"_What do you have? Short term memory? Didn't she tell you? Her family left for Seattle last night."_

_=.=.=.=.=.=..=.=.=.=.=.=.=_

And that was the last time he had seen Serena. His parents had often been puzzled as to why they weren't writing or talking to each other. Every time the other's family called and offered the two to talk to each other, they would make up a hurried excuse and refuse. After about three months of this repeated routine, the two families had lost contact all together.

And now, they had crossed paths with each other again. Whether it was Destiny or simply coincidence, Ryoma did not know. He opened his eyelids as the familiar walls of his classroom welcomed him back to the present.

The memories he had locked away in boxes at the farthest corner of his mind, had been opened once again.

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_**Yes, yes I know this chapter was much shorter than usual. But I assure you, chapters will be longer and I will be more frequent in updating now since I have three whole months to myself. Seeing as I missed the Class Party today, I guess I'll be spending the entire day writing. As always, GINORMOUS amount of thanks to my ever-so-awesome reviewers:**_

_**Sayonara Yasaashi Akumu, iRawrTera**_

_**Anyway, that announcement by the spitting sensei wasn't only for side show either. The next few chapters will feature the Field Trip, more hilarious scenes and of course-fluff. So all you need to do is CLICK THE BIG GREEN BUTTON TO REVIEW!**_

_**-Love you all! (except for flamers xP)**_


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